Once thought of as cheap capital, Tarp is getting more expensive as the dividend rate jumps from 5% to 9%. Banks that are still in the program could see the increase as one more force pushing them to consider their options.

A positive spin around branches will proliferate, as will talk about wearable tech. Oh, and expect tons of M&A -- between banks and nonbanks.

Square 1 Financial in Durham, N.C., is planning to hit the road to promote its planned initial public offering.

CBFH in Orange, Texas, has agreed to purchase MC Bancshares in Houston.

Joseph Stilwell has reached a truce with another banking company.

Virginia National Bankshares (VABK) in Charlottesville, Va., is facing pressure from an activist investor to consider selling itself.

Wayne Savings Bancshares (WAYN) in Wooster, Ohio, is looking for a new chief executive.

Huntington Bancshares (HBAN) in Columbus, Ohio, has poached as executive from U.S. Bancorp (USB) as its new chief financial officer.

Investors Bancorp (ISBC) in Short Hills, N.J., could raise more than $2.6 billion as part of a highly anticipated second-step conversion.

Piedmont Bancorp in Peachtree Corners, Ga., plans to raise $8 million through a private placement of subordinated debt and common stock.

NewBridge Bancorp (NBBC) in Greensboro, N.C., has issued nearly $16 million in subordinated debt to redeem all the preferred stock it issued under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

American Banker on Friday received the 2014 Jesse Neal Award for Best Website from the Association of Business Information and Media Companies.

Banking activity slowed in January, particularly consumer lending, as cold weather and snowstorms stymied new construction and consumer transactions. Still, bankers maintained an optimistic view of overall business conditions.

Analysts Joseph Fenech and Kevin Fitzsimmons have resigned from the research department at Sandler O'Neill.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York has terminated a regulatory agreement with Intervest Bancshares (IBCA), declaring that the New York City company has satisfied all the provisions of the pact.

Bankers are increasingly spending time and money upgrading technology to cut other costs and meet demand for mobile and online banking. But even as they buy online startups like Simple, or build their own systems, bankers at American Banker's Retail Banking 2014 conference said the feel they cannot stop investing in traditional branches.

You might expect Manolo Sanchez, the CEO of BBVA Compass, to renounce traditional branches since his bank is spending $117 million on the online-only startup Simple. But he joined other senior bank executives in defending the branch as "still relevant."

East River Bank has started using hipper images in its advertising to reflect — and connect with — its young, urban customer base.

Community West Bancshares (CWBC) in Goleta, Calif., has been freed from a written agreement with the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

Three companies control banking in Hawaii, but they acknowledge that their dominant position could be coming to an end as the local economy changes and mainland banks can use online services to more easily compete from a distance.